Film cutter



March 29, 1949. J. K. HoLBRooK FILM CUTTER 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 17, 1945 J. K. HOLBROOK March 29, 1949.

FILM CUTTER u INV more K mg! Y Filed July 17, 1945 ATTORNEY l K. HoLBRooK March 2.9, 1949.

FILM CUTTER Filed July '17, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 29, 1949 FILM CUTTER John K. Holbrook, New York, N. Y., assignor to Holbrook Microfilming Service Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 17, 1945, Serial No. 605,497

7 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a iilm cutting apparatus and refers more particularly to a device for rapidly separating a strip of photographie film into pieces 4accurately comprising the frames or exposed and developed pictures constituting the strip. The device has its principal application in the severing of long strips of motion .picture film and is capable of severing approximately 7200 frames per hour.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended Claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the .principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a device embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure e is a side elevation of the device;

Figure 5 is a detail view of a portion of Figure 1, and

Figure 6 is a wiring diagram.

In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention there is provided in xed relation to a lm supply reel and common supporting means a continuously operative film feeding means feeding film to an intermittently operative film feeding means feeding the film to the cutting knife which is pivotally mounted on the supporting means for reciprocation in a xed vertical plane. At a multiple of the length of a frame from the pl-ane o-f the knife, an element of the device carries prominent witness marks and illumination from below permits inspection of the film for registry of the narrow inter-frame space with the witness marks. Registry is maintained by successive minute adjustments of the intermittent feeding means longitudinally of the support means by means of a manually operated rack and pinion.

In operation both film supply means feed the film forward at a rate slightly less than would be necessary to have the cuts register with the inter-frame spaces, perfect registry being maintained by the operator who while continually scanning the witness mark and inter-frame spaces for registry slowly moves the intermittent feed means bodily forward, the particular rate of forward movement being governed by the contemporaneous observation of how the spaces are registering with the mark. When the intermittent means reaches the forward limit of its movement it is quickly returned to the rear limit thereof, such movement serving to withdraw the film from the knife which makes one stroke in empty air, giving the operator time to re-establish registry, whereupon the operation continues as before.

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory of the invention but are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative embodiment of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawings, the framework or supporting means of the device comprises the base member "I, end members 8, 9 and platform I, the latter xedly supporting the film supply spool standard II and standards I2, I3 of the continuous film feed mechanism and being formed with an aperture I4 through which the standards I5 of the intermittent film feed mechanism project, the latter being held in sliding contact with base 1 by flanged guide rails I6.

A small electric motor I'I with a reducing head and mounted on base 1 drives through gears I8, I9 the steady or continuous film feed roll 20A mounted in standards I3, the film 2| being drawn from supply spool 22 on standard II and being held against roll by pressure roll 23 pivotally mounted on arm 24 in standard I2. The engagement of rolls 2U, 23 with the film is preferably frictional.

A timing disc 25 mounted on the shaft of roll 2li carries four pins 26, 21, 28, 29 equidistantly and equi-angularly disposed v about its center and micro-switch is mounted on platform Iii in such relation to disc 25 as to be tripped by a pin, for instance pin 26 just before a second microswitch 3i also mounted on platform I Il, is tripped by the next pin, for instance pin 29. Switch 30 controls solenoids 32 and 33 connected respectively to counter 34 and knife 35. Switch 3i controls solenoid 35 connected by pawl 31 to ratchet l 38 of the intermittent lm feed mechanism.

Standards I5 of the intermittent feed mechansm are maintained in parallel vertical relation by spacer bars 39. A toothed rack 4U mounted on base 1 extends between standards I5 and parallel thereto and is engaged by a pinion 4I mounted on register shaft 42 journalled in standards I5 and controlled by handle 43.

Shaft 44 journalled in standards I5 carries intermittent feed roll 45 and ratchets or click wheels 46, 38, the latter being engaged by pawl 31 for clockwise rotation of roll 45, the former being engaged by pawl 41 to prevent counter clockwise rotation thereof which might be caused by pawl 31 climbing the back of the teeth of ratchet 38. Spring 48 maintains pawl 31 in engagement with ratchet 38. The ratchets engage shaft 44 frictionally, ratchet 38 having more friction, so that in oase of loss of loop, pawl 31 may be manually disengaged and ratchet 38 and shaft 44 revolved counterclockwise manually in order to restore the loop, Without stopping to disengage pawl 41.

Pressure roll 43 is set in pillow blocks 56 in standards I5, the pillow blocks being vertically adjustable by means of screws 5l. Roll 49 is driven by gear 52 engaging gear 53 on shaft 44.

Knife 35 is removably attached to knife arm 54 pivoted to standard 55. A complementary knife of cutting abutment 55 is removably attached to end plate 9. The free end of knife arm 54 is pivoted to armature 51 of solenoid 33, the armature being surrounded by a coil spring 58 abutting the solenoid body and a collar 56 on the armature for returning knife 35 to the illus-lA trated position promptly upon the solenoid being deenergized. A similar spring 63 and collar 6l are utilized on solenoid 32 and an extension coil spring 32 analogously serves to return the armature of solenoid 36.

The register plate 63 bears oppositely disposed witness marks 54 which are located at a distance from the cutting plane of knife 35 equal to or a multiple of the distance between the center points of the frames o1" pictures of the film strip. Otherwise stated this center to center distance is equal to the length of a frame plus the length of the between-frame distance. downward facing film channel 63A is formed on the lower surface of plate 63.

A product box 35 is supported on pins 66 on end plate 9 below knife 35, so as to catch the frames as they fall after being severed from the strip. This box is quickly removable by an upward movement which brings opposite the pin heads apertures 61 communicating with the slots engaging the pins. A follower plate 68 forms a vertically adjustable licor of the box, comprising a pin 69 extending through vertical slot 10 in the box, pin 63 being surrounded by a coil spring 'il engaging a fixed cap 12 serving as a handle and a loose collar 13, the outward pressure of spring 1I being transmitted to cap 12 and through pin 69 to the plate portion 68 which frictionally engages the inner surface of box 65 to maintain any position to which it is set.

A lamp 1li is located below the film viewing between frames A and B of the lm is brought in registry with the witness marks 64 as shown in Figure 5, the registry being effected by movement of lever 43 which moves standards I5 longitudinally of base 1 in either direction. The dividing line between frames is shown as black because the lm 2l is positive film, the images constituting the frames being omitted.

With the inter-frame area or space registered as above, the preceding area, that is, the one in advance of frame A, will lie directly under knife 35 which will bisect it longitudinally of strip 2l, such bisection repeated in rapid succession 'being the object of the invention.

On closing switch 11 motor I1 drives continuous film feed roll 26 through gears I8 and I9, and timing disc 25 on the same shaft with roll 26 also rotates. In the position shown in Figure 2, pin 26 has just tripped switch 36, first closing and then opening the circuit to solenoids 32, 33, operating counter 34 and knife 35, and severing any blank film or fraction of a frame which may have preceded frame A. Pin 29 is about to trip switch 3l controlling solenoid 36 which through pawl 31 and ratchet 38 will advance film 2| an amount slightly less than the distance between frame centers. This will advance frame A almost totally beyond knife 35, and the amount by which the advance falls short of the distance between frame centers will appear as the amount by which the inter-frame area following frame B falls short of registering with the witness marks 64. The operator has the comparatively long interval required by pin 29 to travel to a position of contact f with switch 36, in which to bring the inter-frame area into registry with the witness marks. Frame A is thereupon severed and falls to floor 68 of product box 65. In practical operation, with the knife falling twice a second or better for an average production approximating '1200 cut frames per hour, there is a tendency of the interframe area to recede slowly leftward from the witness marks and the operators only duty is to check this tendency by a slow movement to the right of handle 43, the rate of movement of handle 43 being selected and continually checked by contemporaneous observation of the registry.

The operator will periodically find the handle 43 has reached the right or forward limit of its movement. It must then be quickly returned to the left limit of movement and registry once more established. The quick leftward return of handle 43 has withdrawn the frame which was beyond the knife to a position not quite as far advanced as frame A and the knife makes one stroke in empty air, providing the time necessary to re-establish registry.

At the beginning of the operation the follower plate 68 will be near the top of box 55 to constitute a high false bottom to which the cut frames may fall without danger of turning upside down or otherwise becoming dlsarranged.

This bottom will be periodically lowered as the box fills up, until when it is all the way down and the box is full, the box is lifted upward and outward 01T pins 66 and replaced with a duplicate box.

The invention in its broader aspects is not What is claimed is:

1. A device for severing the frames from a strip of film or the like comprising the combination with film cutting means operable in a, xed plane, intermittent film feeding means and lm viewing means, of means operable simultaneously with said viewing means for varying the distance of said feeding means from said plane.

2. A device for severing the frames from a strip of nlm or the like comprising the combination with lm cutting means operable in a xed plane, intermittent film feeding means and film viewing means, of means operable contemporaneously with said viewing means for varying the distance of said feeding means from said plane.

3. A device for severing the frames from a strip of lm or the like comprising the combination with lm cutting means operable in a xed plane and film feeding means, of means for continuously observing the registry of successive inter-frame areas of said strip with said plane and means contemporaneously operable with said last mentioned means of varying the distance between said feeding and said cutting means.

4. A device for severing the frames from a strip of film or the like comprising, in combination, a base member, a platform supported in substantially parallel relation thereto, means mounted on said platform for rotatably supporting a supply reel of lm or the like, continuous film feed means mounted on said platform, intermittent lm feed means slidably mounted on said base member and projecting through an aperture formed in said platform, lm cutting means mounted on said platform and operable in a xed plane substantially perpendicular thereto, a register plate mounted on said platform between said intermittent feed means and said cutting means and comprising a witness mark, said mark being separated from said plane by a distance equal to a multiple of the distance between the centers of successive frames, and rack and pinion means connected to said base member and said intermittent feed means for varying the distance of the latter from said plane.

5. In a device according to claim 4, a timing disc connected to said continuous feed means and switch means in operative relation to said disc connected to actuating means for said intermittent feed means and said cutting means.

6. In a device according toclaim 4, a timing disc connected to said continuous feed means, said disc comprising pins mounted thereon, and switches connected to said intermittent feed means and said cutting means and so related to said pins as to operate said cutting means and to operate said intermittent feed means relatively shortly thereafter.

7. In a device according to claim 4, said intermittent feed means comprising two ratchets, one of said ratchets being engaged by a pawl to rotate said means to advance said film, the other of said ratchcts being engaged by another pawl to prevent reverse rotation of said means, said ratchets engaging the shaft of said means frictionally, the friction between said iirst ratchet and said shaft being greater than between said other ratchet and said shaft.

JOHN K. HOLBROOK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,037,675 Simpson Sept. 3, 1912 1,474,748 White Nov. 20, 1923 1,684,617 Biggert Sept. 18, 1928 2,021,064 Heygel Nov. 12, 1935 2,188,871 Broekhursen Jan. 30, 1940 2,275,064 Moore Mar. 3, 1942 

